As a regular reader of Tsao’s Chinese columns and as a bilingual Hong Kong native, I find it easy to detect at once, upon reading his controversial piece, his ridicule of the harsh treatment of Philippine maids by Hong Kong employers and his mockery of the inaction by the Chinese government over some national security and sovereignty issues and of its unceasing use of propaganda. When read in context, the reference to Philippine maids cannot be said to be insulting. Still, as the piece was written in English, Tsao’s second language, his overall mocking tone has not been appreciated by all readers and a specific part of the article has been taken by some to be offending.